Arguably the pick of the ties in the Champions League quarter-final lineup takes place in Madrid this week as Los Blancos host Bayern Munich.
Real Madrid are hoping to reach the semi-finals for the fifth time in the last six years. They come into this game having comfortably dispatched Manchester City 5-1 over two legs in the last 16, but they'll feel as though Bayern Munich represent a step up in class.
Their form is strong, with five wins from their last six games. They did lose 2-1 to Mallorca at the weekend, but league form is often of little relevance to Madrid's Champions League chances, with the team beating Manchester City 3-0 shortly after losing 0-1 at home to Getafe last month.
Real Madrid haven't lost a Champions League knockout game at the Bernabeu since losing 2-1 to Arsenal a yer ago, and have won all of their last four games in this competition. Their games tend to be very high event, with all of their last six games producing over 2.5 goals, so we could have an entertaining game in store.
Bayern Munich come into this game top of the Bundesliga with the league title all but sewn up. They'll likely be slowly shifting their focus towards this competition, where they've reached only one semi-final in the last five seasons, incidentally losing to Real Madrid in 2023-24.
Like Madrid, their games tend to be full of goals, with five of the Bavarians' last six outings producing over 2.5 goals. There will be some concern regarding their record against Madrid in this competition, which has seen the Spanish giants win all of the last four two-legged knockout ties between the two (13-14, 16-17, 17-18, 23-24).
Winning at the Bernabeu on a Champions League knockout night is one of the hardest things to do in football, and given how often Bayern fall short against Madrid, we think the home side will build on an excellent two legged showing against Manchester City.
Real Madrid 2-1 Bayern Munich
